You will hear a hundred different stories from a hundred different people but don't listen to them...( unless they tell you the same as I am...ha-ha) If something sticks to your cast iron skillet ( aside of your skin ) you can rest assured someone either misused or didn't season the pan properly...As far as the skin goes, my best recommendation is DON'T TOUCH IT!!!! ( Isn't that right Chef Allen?) What is proper? Glad you asked, that is why I am here. Shed light into the darkness...cheffy's way... I remember reading a good point about sweetening cast iron once. The general gist was that our forefathers didn't get to run down to the gas station to grab some vegetable oil. They used the fat from bear, beef suet, goose fat, lard or whatever. No extra virgin olive oil for dem campers... People will tell you to use vegetable oil, walnut oil, peanut oil, and a hundred different things. I'm a gonna tell ya different...Go to your supermarket and get some fatback, (not salt pork or salt pork rind, the salt will extract seasoning from this very porous metal). If you can't find any, ask the butcher for some or some hog skin or bacon rind. Heat the pan slightly. Rub the fatback around in the pan, go ahead coat the whole damn thing, inside and out....Bake in your oven for 3 hours at 300 degrees. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool. Wipe out the pan with paper towels. Grab your fatback and coat the pan again when it was cooled down and bake again, same time, same temp. If you cannot find fatback or hog skin, use smoked bacon. After two or three times like this you can use it to fry foods, with at least 3/4 inch of oil on the bottom of the pan. Remember that if you are purchasing a new pan, you must scrub it good, it is sent from the factory with a thin coat of wax on it. After this first washing, DON'T WASH IT AGAIN!!!! At times, it is necessary to wash the pan, especially when using eggs and other dairy products. Do not scour the pan or use any abrasives. I simply rinse it out with hot water, or place water in the pan and boil it and let it set to break up the particles, then wipe it out with a sponge. Dry the pan on an eye of your stove and then coat with a piece of bacon or some reserved bacon grease. It is best not to use your cast iron skillet as a skillet until several uses with a good amount of fat in the pan. That includes stewing, soups etc. If you have old pans that stick, just go through the seasoning stages I just discussed. If you found some old pots that are rusted, wash the pans thoroughly, sand the pan lightly with a fine piece of sandpaper(220 or greater), wash the pan again good and then season as above. I have found that when you use the sandpaper on your pans, you must season 2-3 times and make sure you wipe it out good with paper towels between seasonings. If the pan gets too hot, you may lose some of the seasoning, be sure to coat well with animal fat. Other downfalls for ill-seasoned skillets/pots * The food tastes like crap...it can impart a metallic taste to the food. * Do not use anything acidic in the pans, marinades included. Avoid vinegar, buttermilk and excessive salt. If you have wine or some other acid in a recipe, as long as you are not deglazing the pan, you should be OK. Deglazing opens up the pores of the pan and the flavor extracts, including the metal. Bad Juju...and dark ugly food. * Never put your cast iron in the dishwasher. Well, that's all for now, stay tuned for more about cast iron...hope that sheds some light into the darkness... Peace, Hugs and Cookies, chefmike |
| Sweetenin' that Cast Iron Skillet |